Radical Sale

You may have read my post on Chapter One of Radical by David Platt. If so, it is highly possible that you read it before I noticed that an entire paragraph was missing. (These things happen to me. I'm sure it's not because of the all-pervading disorganization that is my life.) Feel free to go read the post...now that it makes a little more sense. If you haven't read it, feel free to ummm...read it. *grinning sheepishly*

And then?

Order yourself a copy.

NOW.

It's on major sale at Amazon. Look at that price!!!!!

*click*

Family Camp 2009

About this time last year we attended a Family Camp up at Solgohachia outside of Morrilton. My best friend had talked it up a lot to us, and then my college roommate Heather also started in. I'm always game for something fun to do, but Paul needed a little convincing. (I think he was worried it would be lame.) Well, long story short, he did, in fact, agree to let us go. Coincidentally, they assigned us to a cabin split with my old roommate! (They had no idea we even knew each other!) It was just like old times. Well, except that she and I didn't stay up late chatting in the dark (...in our sleep) and she didn't fall out of her bunk (...that I know of... LOL!) and her family was on one side while mine was on the other, with a sliding door separating us), and she was lulled to sleep with the sounds of my baby crying in the middle of the night. Okay. Sort of like old times.  ;)

The cabin was great. I loved its rustic simplicity. I loved its porch swing in the evenings once the kids were asleep. I loved its teeny, tiny sink. The stairs to the loft were a little scary in the middle of the pitch-black night for this nursing mama, but I survived. And I kept imagining spiders crawling up through the cracks in the floorboards (by far the hardest part about it)! And we had a ferocious storm one night, during which our door blew right open at like 2:00 a.m.!! The door, by the way, was right. by. our. bed. Talk about a rude awakening! Paul and I sprang up to close it--it took both of us with all our strength! That's how crazy-hard the wind was blowing. The whole ordeal mostly scared us, though we and about 4 feet of cabin got soaked in the process. Amazingly, the children all slept through it. Get this. Maybe 30 seconds after getting back in bed, it flew open again!! This time we piled everything we owned against it for a barricade. Craziness. But very charming craziness.


Okay. Back to the camp. Kiddos age five and below get to go to Sonshine Kids where they play all sorts of fun games, make things, and sing songs with Ms. Bobbie, aka "Super Grandma."

And to make it even more awesome, they got to ride to and from their building in this:

Get a load of this sugary treat they made themselves! (To this day, Saylor still talks about doing this!)

Dress-up nights:

One night was "Luau Night." I don't know how we managed to not get any pictures of that. The boys all wore some sort of Hawaiian-print shirt and a lei. Saylor and I had grass skirts and leis. I even had some shell jewelry from my days as a classroom teacher.


Another night was "Western Night."

He DID have a cowboy hat. Perhaps it fell off while he was scarfing down the chocolate cake he so obviously enjoyed.

The little ones made these hobby horses to bring home. So cute!

I think I'm in love...

Looking the part!

Big kids have their own "camp," complete with getting messy, wet, or both. And they ride to and from activities on a tractor-pulled hayride.

There was so much to do!! We cooked out S'mores, the parents had a square dance, there was swimming, the kids enjoyed the playground, and Daddy took the big kids out in a boat.

And then...there was high stuff for certain daredevils. One, in particular, named "Noah."

There were lots and lots of fun memories made. Like when I got drenched in a downpour and had to borrow my friend's clothes. Or when we Davidsons decided to surprise Heather and her family with CHRISTmas caroling at their door late one night. Or how Daddy would let the kids drive on the dirt roads from the cafeteria to our cabin. Even the littlest fella!

There was an awful lot of smiling going on.

And good friends to hang out with.

And us parents? While the kids are well taken care of, we have speaker sessions to attend. (We can always stand to learn more!) All this and more had us convinced we would HAVE to return every year, if possible. (In other words, stay tuned for the "Family Camp 2010" post. And send money!)


*Some of these pictures were taken by Kim Magnus. Thanks, Kim!!

Radical Response: Week 1

I'm reading a book along with some other bloggers. It's funny how God brings these things in our lives. How He can make you know FOR SURE that it's something He wants you to do. See? While I was at Family Camp, I had some time one day (during baby naps) to catch up a bit (I'm sooooo far behind) in my blog reading. Some of my favorite blogs had like 25+ unread items!! Obviously, I don't have time to get to all of them, so I was skimming through them and ended up on It's Almost Naptime (WHICH I love, by the way)--only it was a guest post. Ordinarily, I would skip a guest post in times like this, but God must have had it for me to read, because I was drawn in. The post ended up telling about plans for blog followers to read a book together and write posts in response. After reading the post, I was definitely interested--already. (Read it. You'd be interested, too.) But the next morning? Our speaker at Family Camp mentioned the very same book! Up until this point I hadn't even heard of it. Now TWICE--in as many days. That's how I knew I must read the book. I told Paul about it, and we bought a copy on our way home from camp. Now here I am. One chapter under my belt. And what follows is my response to what I've read so far:

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt

Chapter One:

"Someone Worth Losing Everything For: What Radical Abandonment to Jesus Really Means"

Do you ever feel guilty for having so much when others have so little? I do. Constantly! In fact, I think about it all the time. Some would say, "God has blessed you richly. Be thankful for what you have. Enjoy it. Own it." That sort of thing. And, yes, it's true that God has blessed me richly. He's blessed many of us richly. But what we fail to recognize is that even those of us with a more modest income--who wouldn't consider ourselves "rich"--are vastly rich in comparison with MUCH of the world. Even those of us who shop at Goodwill occasionally, as I was doing yesterday, are still in a whole other category of "richness" compared with the majority of the world's population. 

We are rich because we have our choice of t-shirt colors.

We are rich because we drive our cars back-and-forth from one activity to the next. Fun, extra-curricular activities that have nothing to do with our physical survival on this planet.

We are rich because we have medical care, clean water, safety, food, etc. The list could go on and on.

But the main reason we are rich is because those of us who are believers...we have Jesus Christ living in us. Jesus Christ! Who is the ultimate provider, protector, and lover of our souls. He is the only Hope worth hoping for. 

And yet. We keep Him to ourselves. We hide Him within the safe walls of our homes and bring Him out on Sunday mornings as we worship, comfortably and without fear, in our gorgeous, massive, million-dollar churches with all their expensive programs and fine facilities.

Jesus told those who wanted to follow Him, that they would have to give up everything! Family, friends, possessions, even their own lives to be a true follower of Him. Everything! (See Luke 9) Jesus says to get rid of it all! Jesus says those blessings from the Lord? They're His anyway. Give them away so you can follow Him.

"But we don't want to believe it. We are afraid of what it might mean for our lives. So we rationalize these passages away."

And, in doing so, we slowly begin to redefine Christianity. We make Jesus into someone we are more comfortable with. Someone who is fine with our building projects, our constant need to collect more "stuff," our avoidance of all things extreme and dangerous, and our Sunday-only worship. What we'd really like is a Christianity that allows US to have all the things WE want, instead of the Christianity He calls us to, which says for us to abandon ourselves. In Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, The Cost of Discipleship, he says, "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." That is a terrific cost! But as Platt puts it, "I wonder if the cost of nondiscipleship is even greater." (emphasis added)

The price is high for US, as believers, and the price is high for the unbelieving world. "While Christians choose to spend their lives fulfilling the American dream instead of giving their lives to proclaiming the kingdom of God, literally billions in need of the gospel remain in the dark."

I was particularly sickened by a recounting of a Christian publication the author came across on which there were two headlines: "First Baptist Church Celebrates New $23 Million Building" and "Baptist Relief Helps Sudanese Refugees." The second article went on to say that $5,000 had been sent to the Sudan. The Sudan--where 350,000 Sudanese would most likely die by the end of the year due to malnutrition! $23,000,000 for a building...and $5,000 for the dying Sudanese.

I can't understand this, much less reconcile it in my mind. It's truly unfathomable. But while I'm busy being horrified by the injustice of it all, I begin to look around at my home, my closets packed full of stuff, my pantry full of food, and that's when I realize I'm the same. In fact, I'm holding on to all these things as if I can somehow find life's very meaning in them. Am I willing to give up my comforts? Willing to say, "Yes Lord. These beautiful children? I give them to you. They're yours. My precious husband? Him, too. You are all I need. You are ALL I'm living for." Can I actually DO that?! The truth is, the very thought gives me heart palpitations. The truth is I am happy being comfortable. I am selfish. And I am not nearly radical for my Jesus.

I'll tell you what, though. I may be scared like most. But God is teaching me more and more every day. I'm not nearly as caught up in materialism as I once was. I'm much more aware of the great need all across the world. And I'm no longer content with just tolerating the once, maybe twice, a year "Missionary Sunday" presentation at church. I want more! I want to see God working! I am excited for what it is He has planned for me to do for Him. I believe God. I believe God. I believe God. I may have to keep repeating it to myself for it to be more TRUE of me, but whatever it takes, it's what I want to be true. I believe God.

P.S. Our friends have abandoned their "American dream" by believing God and will be on their way to Uganda...to LIVE...in January. You can read about them here. If you, like me, have more than enough and would like to give it away, they could use your financial support in doing God's work loving on countless orphans there.

*All quotes, unless noted otherwise, are from David Platt's book.

Project 365: Week 37

Welcome to my Project 365: Cell Phone Edition. 

That's right. After Family Camp and all the disorganization that followed our return, I've misplaced BOTH of my memory cards. So the camera has been having a little rest this week, I guess you could say. Just warning you.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

This is only HALF the amount of laundry we brought back from camp. And I have no motivation whatsoever to get started on this monster.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

For one of Noah's school activities today, we played The Allowance Game. This is, by the way, one of the best games I've ever seen for teaching kids to make change, etc. in a real-life setting. I used this game in my second-grade classroom back in the day, and I still love it. It's a lot like Monopoly in many ways (note: it can go on and on), but it's played in terms kids can relate to. Every time you come back "Home," you get your $3.00 allowance. Then you might buy bubble gum or lose some money and do some little jobs here and there along the way, giving lots of opportunities for kids to count out payment, make even exchanges, and make change. Saylor plays with us and works more on coin identification and basic counting. It's all about exposure for her. Really, I can't say enough good stuff about it. (Can you tell?)

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Tonight we went out for Paul's birthday. I noticed the boys all had on stripes (quite by accident), so we tried to get a quick picture of that. Of course, in this picture, you can only tell that two boys have on stripes.

Daddy's chosen restaurant has a fish pond.

We went home for dessert. I had baked a "healthy" coconut pie. Everyone seemed to like it, despite the fact that it didn't look very appetizing. Especially the meringue. Ewww. That's what I get for leaving the egg whites in the mixer and walking away! (Never do that.) Anyway, Gabriel was so cute because he kept dancing around saying, "I 'cited, Daddy, I 'cited!"

Friday, September 10, 2010

Today was Saylor's first day back at ballet. And it's in a new studio! Same group; new (very snazzy, very kid-friendly) studio. The best part by FAR is that we're in a homeschool class time!! 11:30 a.m. How nice is that?! No more dealing with Rush Hour traffic and late suppers! (Well, at least not that can be blamed on ballet rehearsal...)

Saturday, September 11, 2010

It's Game Day. And while this is NOT our vehicle, we DO have about this much team spirit today...deep, down in our hearts. Spirit. But no tickets. Boo hoo!

Okay. As of TODAY I now have ONE memory card found. I am so thankful. And you will be, too, come next week, right? That is, if you're still around... bleh! Thank you, Sara, for hosting our very fun project--even when it's done entirely on a cell phone. 

Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails: August

For whatever reason (I'm sure it's not the fact that our family has watched Lassie Come Home fourteen times this month), Saylor and the two babies have been playing "Dog" a lot lately. They take turns being the dog and the owner, and they play those parts to the "nth" degree! They've even figured out that Noah's bungee cords make great leashes. (Don't freak out on me. There's no tying or wrapping going on. They simply hook one end to their shirt collar.) It's so funny. Gabriel enjoys the game the most and even tries to get Paul and me to play along. But we don't make very good dogs. In case you weren't aware, grown-ups don't have the knees to withstand hardwood or tile floors for longer than, say, five seconds. That's okay, though. He takes solace in time with his Silkie. Still.

Noah, on the other hand, is practicing his combat skills. With whatever he can find. Here, he has turned my vacuum cleaner attachments into some sort of double lightsaber-thingie. 

And more evidence of the impressionability of our children...Saylor has been wearing her chef's hat (the one she's wearing in the last couple of pictures) TO BED every night. Why? you ask. Well, she thinks it resembles the night bonnets Laura and Mary Ingalls wear to bed. And she is a Little House girl through and through!! That's why. ( I know. That was probably your guess, wasn't it?) And then she wants me to sing "Holy, Holy, Holy" to her because it's her favorite church song. She is one quirky girl, let me tell ya.

A few weeks ago, Atticus climbed into bed with us and said, "Hi, Daddy. I ready!" I know I'm always talking about how talkative Atticus is, but really. This child amazes us with his abilities! "Dead bug," "baseball," "More water ice,""My birthday." It's crazy! Of course, this is the same kid who almost always answers "no," even when he means "yes" and has to be reminded that he does, in fact, mean "yes."





Never a dull moment.

But that's how we like it.

They Say It's (His) Birthday

Happy Birthday to my best friend and love of my life...

...a man who will apparently don Wikki Stix glasses at a formal wedding rehearsal dinner. With no shame.

Really. How can I resist? Because, ladies, you know that men like this are the kind who get out in the yard and throw the football with their boys, read silly bedtime stories to their babies, play dress-up with their little girls, pray over their children, and change the dirtiest of diapers. And all of this after they've had a long, hard day at work! This is the kind of man I pray God has for Saylor, and I'm ever so thankful to have one for myself.

Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails: July

Noah, still sometimes begrudgingly, is getting schoolwork done a little more readily. There have to be incentives and such at times, but it's getting done. And his handwriting is improving a great deal, which gives me great relief, seeing as how CURSIVE is looming on the horizon. Ugh. He is also averaging a chapter book per week. And enjoying himself! He has always been a great reader, but getting him to do it was a chore. It's better now because he has a piece of paper that tells him exactly how much he needs to do each day. That's the key for him. Knowing what is expected helps him feel a little more in control, I guess. 

I may not be overly impressed with the curriculum we're using right now, but his enjoyment of the books gives the curriculum value it might not otherwise have had in my mind. And it has created a craving within him to read by choice--when it is not required. Sometimes he'll sit and read through our entire stack of library books at one time. One night I caught him quietly reading his Bible on his bed. (I still have to sneak up on him when I have a camera in hand.)

Saylor is still such a little mommy. She's always toting a baby of some sort, careful to make sure said baby gets properly buckled in her car seat, takes her naps, nurses, gets her diaper changed, and gets her picture taken as much as the rest of the family! 

But "Saylor as Mommy" is nothing like her pajama-clad real mother, in that Saylor is always well-dressed and heavily accessorized. (Note her brother's pink neck tie clipped to the front of her dress. That was the fad around our house for a while there.) And perhaps most importantly, Saylor always has on a "clumpy" (her word) pair of shoes. In fact, she's wearing a pair of mine in the picture above! (She has on my shoes more than I do.)

Gabriel is talking up a storm. Up. a. storm!! And in full sentences most of the time. "No, I didn't." "Daddy helped me." "Atticus went upstairs." That kind of stuff. SOMEtimes he will start s-words with their appropriate s-sound. Which means SOMEtimes, instead of calling Saylor "Yeh Yez," he will say "Say Say." He's putting some g's on the ends of words. He is still behind in articulation, meaning that he can't accurately pronounce all the many, many words he knows. Because of all the improvements lately, I've really been feeling like everything will all balance out eventually. And that's just awesome news.

That's Gabe's voice saying, "Roll it" over and over. I didn't even know he KNEW the word "nicely"!

Atticus is keeping up with all of us. Fiercely independent and wanting nothing cut up into baby bites, he is definitely holding his own with the Davidson kiddos. He, too, is making some "sentences." "That Mimi (Miriam)." "Me ready." and "Hi Mommy."  He was hilarious when Gabriel was getting his evaluation, because the tester would ask Gabe a question about a picture, and Atticus would RUN up and say the answer! There's really not much he doesn't have a word for. He's pointing out bikes, boots, trees, houses, cats, birds, trains, cars, ice. The list goes on and on.

That's July. August will be forthcoming.